1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus having plural operation buttons.
2. Description of the Related Art
A smaller configuration of an electronic apparatus having plural operation buttons is required as high performance and small electronic units have recently been increasingly demanded. The conventional electronic unit arranges plural operational buttons in a row and houses them in a narrow space.
For example, an electronic apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. (“JP”) 10-294044 combines a pair of components up and down, and fixes them in a case. Each component includes a stripe-shaped base, and plural operation buttons that each extend orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the base, are supported by the base via support members, and are arranged at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction of the base. When the upper and lower components are combined, these operation buttons alternate in the longitudinal direction of the base. The case exposes the operation buttons, and the components are fixed into the case by inserting projections of the case is inserted into attachment holes of the base, and by bonding the base with the case.
In JP 10-294044, the base and the support member which projects beyond a key top as a top surface (or a compressed surface) of the operation button hinder a miniaturization of the electronic apparatus when the operation buttons are viewed from a direction perpendicular to their key tops. In addition, even in a direction perpendicular to the key top, a space is needed for two members, i.e., the base and the support member, because the components are combined up and down. Moreover, in inserting the projection of the case into the attachment hole of the base, the base and the support member deform and the operability of the operation buttons degrades. Furthermore, an adhesion between the base and the case is likely to peel off due to the stress applied during operations of the operation buttons.